Orphans

I've picked up a bad habit from Count Olaf (from reading the books, not watching the movie). I refer to my nieces as "The Orphans". I think its funny how Olaf says it about the Baudelaires---"HELLO, HELLO, HELLO, Orphans!!" But, my nieces are real little girls that have lost their mother. They have experienced real life tragedy, not just an entertaining, made-up series of unfortunate events. Maybe the whole adoption thing isn't real enough, for me, yet. I haven't really taken in the fact that these three real little people might soon be part of my immediate family (!!!???). That reality is too big and scary and complicated to digest and so I think of it like a story, like I'm a villanous Aunty Olaf or something funny and ridiculous.

Here are some of the things I most look forward to about adopting three half grown Sudanese women:

1- Girl Scouts
2- Family Vacations
3- Simbe the dad
4- Three new young friends
5- Blossoming bi-cultural identities
6- powerful tides of sisterly love
7- introducing them to the beautiful, rich culture of these United States
8- A house full of chatter
9- Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
10-high school and college graduations